Doors, panels, and the like



. July 25, 1961` .1.` R. JAMES 2,993,244

DooRs, PANELS, AND'THE LIKE Filed July 14. 1959 ffy/M Hmm/ph fawn United States Patent O 2,993,244 DORS, PANELS, AND THE LIKE lohn Randolph James, Rustington, England Filed July 14, 1959, Ser. No. 827,044 Claims. (Cl. 20-91) This application is a continuation in part of my application for Letters Patent for Improvements in and Relating to Doors, led July 23, 1952, Ser. No. 300,413, now abandoned.

. The invention relates to ilush `doors and in particular to those flush doors in which there is no core between the cover sheets.

The principal objectives are the provision of a door of good appearance, and a door of greater strength at less cost.

The invention described in this application is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which FIG. l is an elevation of a door with the cover sheets secured together at the junction of the horizontal and vertical centerlines; FIG. 2 is an elevation of a door with the cover sheets secured together for a distance along the vertical centerline; FIG. 3 is a cross section on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; FIG 5 is an enlarged View of a door corner held together with dowels; FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a door corner held together with a tenon and running mortise; FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a lock block in place; FIG. 8 is an enlarged View showing the stiles and/ or rails with parallel faces; FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the cover sheets provided with a groove to facilitate bending; FIG. 10 is an exaggerated section at the junction of the horizontal and vertical center lines of the door; FIG. ll is an exaggerated section at the same junction point showing the cover sheets blocked apart; FIG. 12 shows the frame adapted to receive a louvre.

Throughout the drawings and the specilication similar numerals refer to similar parts.

The door comprises six main components, namely, two stiles 1 and 2, two rails 3 and 4, and two cover sheets 5 and 6. Where narrow Stiles are used a lock block 7 is provided as shown in FIG. l. The Stiles and rails make up the door frame F which may be put together in many ways such as with corrugated fasteners (not shown). FIG. 5 shows the use of dowels' 8. FIG. 6 shows the rails 3 and 4 formed with a tenori 9 and the Stiles 1 and 2 with a running mortise 10 which may be formed simultaneously with the surfacing of said stiles. The tenon 9 is shown short of the bottom of the mortise 10 to provide a space 11 for the passage of air into and out of the space between the cover sheets 5 and 6.

The cover sheets 5 and 6 are glued to the frame members and are depressed until they come into contact or touch each other preferably at lthe center of the area A enclosed by the frame members. If the door is provided with a top or bottom louvre L an extra cross rail 12 serves as part of the frame enclosing the area A as shown in FIG. 12. The cover sheets 5 and 6 are so depressed as to be formed with a continuously curved or dome-like depressed surface. When so formed a myriad of continuously curved line `arches are formed in each cover sheet which extend crosswise, lengthwise, and diagonally between the door frame members which serve as the haunches of said 'arches which cross at a cornmon center or the point of tangency between the domelike sheets. At this point of tangency T, shown in FIG. l, -a single bolt (not shown) or a small spot of glue 13 may be placed to hold the two curved cover sheets together. Standard commercial `doors are usually made 1%", 1%, and 2%, in thickness. In the above doors I find Ms" to /lg" plywood to be adequate. It is not easy to shape even 1/8" thick plywood with a reverse 2,993,244 Patented July 25, 1961 ice curve on all four sides of a door but it may be done if the door is not too thick for its size. Formed as disclosed, plywood cover sheets for the above doors are not stressed beyond their elastic limit. To more readily depress the cover sheets 5 and 6 within the area A said cover sheets may have a groove 14 formed adjacent to and paralleling the inner edge of the frame members 1, 2, 3, and 4, which may have parallel glue faces as shown in FIG. 9. This grooving of the cover sheets permits commercial lumber to be used thus cutting down the cost considerably. This feature has been made the subject of a patent issued to Emmet G. Stack, namely, 2,799,059'A Regardless of how the stiles and rails are formed or Whether the cover sheets are grooved the cover sheets 5 and 6 are always depressed within the frame enclosure A so 1as to form the all important arches which run crosswise, lengthwise, and diagonally, of the door in FIG. 1, but only crosswise in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2 a narrow strip of glue 15 is spread along the vertical centerline V of the door instead of a small spot 13 surrounding the point of tangency T shown in FIG. 1. The area of this strip of .glue 15 is spaced equi-distant from the perimeter of the door.

In either instance the arches are curved. In the ordinary 2@ x x 1%" house door the radius of the arch crosswise of the door approximates 11' and lengthwise of the door 96 thus providing an effective glue area approximating 11/2" x 41/2 in FIG. 1. In FIG 2 the effective glue area would approximate 11/2" x 491/2.

The effective glue area will vary because of several factors, namely, the curvature of the cover sheets, their porosity, and the type and consistency of the glue usedglue meaning any adhesive material.

Since it is humanly impossible to draw the above curves on a patent drawing straight lines have been used in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the sections shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 have been greatly exaggerated except for the thickness of the cover sheets. In reality the separation of the cover sheets and the block 16 is less than the thickness of this paper at the perimeter of the block.

Appearance is very important in house doors and the depressed cover sheets present a very pleasing appearance in most woods. However, in small doors such as found in cabinets where the overall size is small in comparison to the door thickness the `depression is obvious and some people do not like it. For cabinets -a door of sucient strength with all the advantages of the arch and -a light frame may had by placing a block 16 between the crowns 17 as shown in FIG. 11, and gluing the cover sheets 5 and 6 to said block.

The construction which I have described is such that a flush door is had without expensive cores heretofore necessary in all flush doors, and area A indicates that a complete circulation of air is had. The construction has provided a lighter, cheaper, and very stii door which has remained straight and out of wind for some years.

What is new in the art follows:

1. A coreless flush door having a frame with four sides arranged to enclose a space between said sides, and a cover sheet secured to each side of the frame sides, both cover sheets being depressed inwardly into contact within the enclosed space to arch said sheets crosswise, lengthwise, and diagonally, said sheets being secured together at the point of contact with each other.

2. A coreless flush door having a frame with four sides arranged to enclose a space between said sides, and a cover sheet glued to each side of the frame sides, both cover sheets being depressed inwardly into contact Within the enclosed space to arch said sheets crosswise, lengthwise, and diagonally, said sheets being glued together at the point of contact with each other.

3. A coreless flush door having a frame with four sides arranged to enclose a space between said sides, a cover sheet glued to each side of the frame sides, and a spacer block positioned between the cover sheets, both cover sheets being depressed inwardly within the enclosed space into contact with the spacer block to which they are glued to arch said sheets crosswise, lengthwise, and diagonally.

4. A coreless flush door having a frame with four sides arranged to enclose `a space between said sides, and a cover sheet glued to each side of the frame sides, both cover sheets Abeing depressed inwardly into contact and glued together within the enclosed space `along a portion of the vertical centerline of the door to arch said 15 2,799,059

4 sheets crosswise of the door over the glued-together portion of the cover sheets.

5. A coreless ush door comprising a frame around its perimeter and two cover sheets each stressed by de pressing each sheet inwardly toward the other and into contact with each other at the center to arch said sheets laterally land longitudinally, said cover sheets being glued to the frame and together where the depressed portions of the sheets come together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Loetscher May 30, 1933 Stack July 16, 1957 UNITED STATES PATENT oEEICE CERTIFICATE 0E CORRECTION PatennNo.. 2,993,244 July 25Yv 1961 John Randolph James It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent. should read as "corrected below.

Column 4, liney 8V after firme insert which constitutes the haunches for the arched cover sheets Signed and sealed this 28th day of November 1961.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM'DC 

